Why Texas A&M University wants state-of-the-art nuclear power plants on its campus
- crosswindcommunicati
- Jun 15, 2024
- 1 min read
The chancellor of Texas A&M system says the coming explosion in the state's demand for electricity makes nuclear generation the logical solution.
Texas A&M University, which has one of the nation's two largest nuclear engineering centers, is seeking proposals that would lead to the installation of several small nuclear power generating plants at its College Station campus — an initiative that the system's chancellor says can shore up the state's power grid and prove the safety of modern reactors.
"These reactors that we have now are not your granddaddy's 'Three Mile Island reactors,'" Texas A&M system Chancellor John Sharp told the American-Statesman, referring to the 1979 partial meltdown of a reactor in Pennsylvania. "They are very different."
Sharp, who oversees the system's 11 universities and eight state agencies, said nuclear energy is vital to meet what is forecast to be a near doubling of the state's demand for electric power over the next six years. And the system recently joined the Texas Nuclear Alliance, an advocacy organization formed in the wake of the deadly February 2021 snow-and-ice storm that left millions without power over several days and nearly led to a catastrophic meltdown of the state's electric grid.
Reed Clay, who heads the Nuclear Alliance, told the Statesman the storm "revealed Texas’ overreliance on intermittent energy sources."
"The Alliance is based on the fundamental premise that if Texas and the world want low-carbon, reliable energy, it can no longer turn its back on nuclear energy," Clay said. "Nuclear is clean, safe, reliable and secure."
